Secret Supervillain

by Alesha Dixon

  I laughed as Aunt Lucinda smiled warmly at him.

  “You took it from the receptionist very smoothly. You have wonderful potential, Fred,” she said. “How would you like to learn how to break into vaults? It’s about time I imparted some of my wisdom when it comes to bending the rules.”

  Fred looked thrilled.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Nanny Beam said, coming over and holding her phone out, “but my friend would like to have a word with you, Aurora.”

  I took the phone from her and held it up to my ear, stepping to the side as the others talked amongst themselves about the events of the day.

  “Hello?” I said into the phone, looking at Nanny Beam in confusion. She just smiled knowingly at me.

  “Hello, Lightning Girl,” said a voice that I recognized straight away and made me almost drop the phone. “It’s the Queen. I hear you’ve saved the day.”

  20

  “And that was probably the weirdest, most surreal conversation of my life,” I admitted, before adding, “except for this one, right now. Obviously.”

  The Queen chuckled. She had sat patiently listening to the story from beginning to end, without any interruptions, even though I knew at some points I’d rambled on a bit. She’d been such a good listener and seemed so interested in all the details, I had kind of forgotten that I was in Buckingham Palace talking to the head of the Royal Family.

  I wish I hadn’t gone on so much about the shape of the Vermore building.

  I had actually stood up and arched my body into a curve with my arms outstretched to demonstrate the banana shape. I had acted out being a banana to the QUEEN OF ENGLAND.

  That was probably unnecessary.

  Still, she hadn’t seemed creeped out by that or any of the other parts of the story. She’d nodded and laughed and gasped in all the right places. A butler had now refreshed her teacup four times in the period I’d been speaking.

  “It’s quite a story,” she said, offering me some more tea, which I declined. “I’m glad we got the man in the end. You and your friends were very brave indeed. None of you hesitated to throw yourself into danger to protect each other. And in turn, protect our country from a very dangerous person. That’s why I awarded you that medal.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” I said, bowing my head slightly in what I hoped was a gracious manner, because that’s what people always do in the movies. “It’s weird, though. You don’t really think about the danger. You just … do it.”

  She nodded slowly. “I hear you have plans for the Light of the World.”

  “Yes. I don’t think it was lost for centuries before it was discovered; I think it was there for a reason. I want to take it back to where it belongs.”

  “A new adventure,” she remarked, putting down her teacup. “I would have thought you’d want some down-time after such a busy term. You don’t want to relax and have some fun over the Christmas holidays?”

  “It’s not that; it’s just if I am the chosen guardian, then I have to do the right thing for the precious stone. I mean, I want to go and return it but even if I didn’t… Well” – I hesitated – “I wouldn’t really have a choice. It’s my duty.”

  Her sparkling eyes bore into mine. “Yes. If anyone understands that side of things, it’s me.”

  She looked pensive for a moment, so I didn’t say anything, waiting for her to speak and listening to the quite comforting ticking sound coming from the old grandfather clock in the corner of the room.

  “In return for you telling me your story, I would like to tell you another, if you don’t mind. But first, I need my friend to help me explain the finer details.”

  She nodded to one of the butlers, who bowed his head before opening the door and letting Nanny Beam in. She thanked the security woman who pulled a chair up for her next to mine and flashed a grin in my direction.

  The Queen stood up and addressed all the security team and the butlers in the room.

  “Thank you. If everyone could now leave us, I would be very grateful,” she announced, before turning to Joe, the butler who had welcomed us and was standing by the fireplace. I hadn’t noticed that he had been holding a wooden box this whole time.

  “And if you could leave that here with me, Joe, thank you.”

  The servants all bowed their heads before exiting the room swiftly. Joe placed the wooden box very carefully on the table after the tea tray had been removed by another butler, and left the room last, shutting the door carefully behind him.

  “Have you had a nice time?” Nanny Beam asked.

  “Your delightful granddaughter has been telling me everything that happened,” the Queen informed her, smiling warmly. “She’s as brave as you described to me, Patricia, and more.”

  “She’s just like her grandmother. Simply fabulous,” Nanny Beam said.

  “I’m pleased to see she hasn’t gone down the same route in terms of hair colour,” the Queen commented, with a mischievous glint in her eye.

  “Now, now, I thought you said you liked this colour!”

  “I do! It’s just VERY loud, isn’t it?” the Queen teased.

  “Oh, and the outfit you wore to Ascot this year wasn’t?” Nanny Beam chuckled, winking at me.

  “You know that I look good in bold colours. In fact, I believe it was you who suggested I experiment with them more in the first place. And anyway, outfits can be removed, as opposed to hair.”

  “Say what you like, I know you secretly love my hair.” Nanny Beam grinned.

  “I wouldn’t change it for the world,” the Queen replied. “It’s splendid. Or how would the kids describe it these days?”

  “I believe something along the lines of … ‘it’s cool!’ That means, ‘marvellous’, doesn’t it?” Nanny Beam suggested.

  “Yes, very good. Your hair colour is cool, Nanny Beam!” the Queen said.

  They both burst into raucous laughter. I stared at them, my mouth hanging open.

  What. Was. Happening.

  NANNY BEAM AND THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND WERE JOKING OVER HAIR AND SLANG. RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE. AM I ASLEEP RIGHT NOW, I’M NOT SURE.

  “Poor Aurora,” Nanny Beam said, looking at me and still chuckling. “This must all seem very odd.”

  “Yes, we have some explaining to do,” the Queen admitted, wiping a tear from her eye before collecting herself and turning to me with a serious expression. “Aurora, as you may have guessed, your Nanny Beam and I are old friends.”

  “Through MI5?” I asked, glancing from one to the other.

  “Well, yes, but actually we met before I headed up MI5,” Nanny Beam explained. “You mentioned to me that Darek spoke about his father? And what he did?”

  I nodded. “He told me he tried to extract powers from one of the precious stones and in doing so, he was killed.”

  “That’s right. And did he give you any details about that stone?”

  “Not really. Just that it was the Jewel of Truth and Nobility. Darek spent years searching for it but he never found it. He never worked out who its true guardian was or where it was hidden, so he couldn’t steal it again and continue his father’s work.”

  “Yes, that’s right. The guardian of that stone is only known to the people in this room,” Nanny Beam said. “And after we tell you who it is, I expect it to stay that way.”

  “I promise I won’t tell anyone,” I said.

  “Pinky-promise?” the Queen asked, leaning forward and holding out her little finger.

  “Pinky-promise,” I said, wrapping my little finger around hers and shaking it, pretending it wasn’t crazily weird that I was making a pinky-promise with the Queen.

  “Very well.” The Queen sat back in her chair. “It’s me.”

  I gaped at her. “You?”

  “Yes, me.”

  She reached over to the wooden box and unclasped it, before entering two codes into locks either side of it. A robotic voice suddenly came from the box.

  “Voice Activation.”


  “Elizabeth,” the Queen spoke clearly, as I stared at her in wonder.

  A small light on the bottom right of the box went green. The robotic voice spoke again.

  “Password.”

  “Corgis-And-Dorgis-For-Ever.”

  Another green light flashed on the other side of the box.

  “Access Granted.”

  The lid released, and the Queen pulled it up to reveal the grandest, most beautiful, sparkling crown.

  “This is the Imperial State Crown,” the Queen said matter-of-factly. “The most magnificent crown in the royal collection, symbolising the sovereignty of the monarch and worn by the monarch after their coronation.” She turned to meet my eye. “The Jewel of Truth and Nobility is set into this crown. I am its current chosen guardian, like the British monarchs have been before me. Each monarch tells the next in line to the throne the true value of the stone.”

  “I… I don’t know what to say,” I whispered, my mouth suddenly feeling very dry. “I had no idea.”

  “Nobody does. Except for your grandmother and I,” the Queen explained. “I revealed its true value to her, and only her, when it was stolen from the crown. Together, we managed to keep its disappearance out of the press and then your grandmother discovered it in the warehouse when…”

  She tailed off and leaned forward to place a comforting hand over one of Nanny Beam’s. Nanny Beam smiled weakly.

  “I meant it when I said that I understood why you felt you had a duty to return the Light of the World to its rightful place. Like you, I am a guardian of one of these precious stones.”

  “Is it… Is it that big ruby at the front?” I asked, pointing at the crown.

  “No. That’s the Black Prince’s Ruby. It has quite the history, though rather an unfortunate one. You should look it up; it’s fascinating. And that there is the Cullinan Diamond, otherwise known as the Second Star of Africa. Beautiful, isn’t it? Another stone with an interesting history. And then there’s the Stuart Sapphire on the back; very striking. Thought to have been smuggled away by James II when he fled England.”

  She paused and then raised her hand to the diamond mounted cross at the top of the crown. An octagonal sapphire sat in the centre of it. It was smaller than the other stones, but I thought it was the most striking.

  “Legend goes that this particular stone was given to a beggar by an ancient king, who had nothing else to give. It was later returned to the crown. It is known as St Edward’s Sapphire.” She smiled. “But to the three of us in the room, it is the Jewel of Truth and Nobility.”

  “Wow,” I whispered, unable to take my eyes off it. “It’s beautiful.”

  “And more precious than anyone can know,” the Queen commented, before closing the lid gently. There was a sequence of clicks as the locks went back into place.

  “Can I ask you something?” I said, continuing when they both nodded. “Why are you telling me about this? It makes sense for you to both know about it – the Queen and its guardian, and then Nanny Beam, you’re the head of MI5. But why have you let me in on this secret?”

  Nanny Beam and the Queen shared a look.

  “Because, Lightning Girl,” the Queen smiled, “us guardians need to stick together. Don’t you think?”

  “Where have you been?” Georgie asked as I returned to the Bright Sparks. “Fred has managed to fit four cucumber sandwiches in his mouth so far.”

  Fred tried to say something but all he managed to do was spray out crumbs. Kimmy was jumping up at him, whining, desperate for him to share.

  “He just said ‘five’,” Kizzy translated, rolling her eyes. “I keep telling them this is not how you should behave in Buckingham Palace.”

  “The Queen is back,” Suzie said excitedly as we watched her come in, chatting happily with Nanny Beam.

  The doors shut behind her, a butler clinked a glass and the room descended into immediate silence.

  “What a pleasure and an honour to toast you all today and celebrate your wonderful achievements,” the Queen announced, beaming to the sea of faces staring back at her. “I believe it is time to raise a glass and—”

  Suddenly, the room was plunged into darkness as the lights all went out, with only a dull light streaming through the windows from the snowy day outside.

  “Ah,” the Queen chuckled, as her security team instantly surrounded her, “there must have been a power cut. No need for anyone to panic, I’m sure.”

  “Aurora, help me light the room, would you?” Mum asked, rushing past me and heading towards the Queen.

  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and blocked out everything else. My hands began to glow and then the room lit up in the controlled, soft light beams emanating from my palms.

  “Thank you, Lightning Girl,” the Queen said, nodding at me.

  Nanny Beam had backed towards the door through which she’d just come with the Queen, turned around and was now trying the handle.

  “It’s locked!” she exclaimed, looking at Mum.

  There was a sudden banging noise and the sound of a commotion from beyond the door. Kimmy started barking madly. Everyone in the room gasped and began to talk in panicked whispers.

  “Excuse me, Your Majesty,” Mum said to the baffled Queen, before ripping a fire extinguisher from the wall and promptly using it to break through the door.

  Dad looked at me with a dreamy expression on his face. “Impressive, isn’t she, your mum.”

  As the lock broke from the force of the extinguisher and the doors swung open, Mum raced from the room and I followed, crying, “Come on!” to the rest of the Bright Sparks over my shoulder.

  We got out into the corridor to find two security guards and a butler unconscious on the carpeted floor.

  “What the—” Mum said, bending down to check they were OK. “Why would someone do this?”

  “The crown,” I croaked, a wave of dread hitting me.

  Without any further explanation, I raced as fast as my legs could take me to the small room where the Queen, Nanny Beam and I had been speaking. Mum and the Bright Sparks followed me in hot pursuit.

  “Aurora, what’s going on?” Suzie yelled as my friends came rushing through the doors.

  All the security team and butlers that had been with the Queen earlier were unconscious.

  The box containing the crown was gone.

  “No.”

  We spun round to see the Queen standing in the doorway behind us. Nanny Beam put an arm round her. They both looked completely in shock, frozen to the spot at the sight in front of them.

  Nanny Beam turned to Agent Holden and was about to give her instructions when we were distracted by the chilling sound of a loud cackle from outside in the courtyard. Kimmy jumped up to rest her paws on the windowsill and began growling at whatever she could see outside.

  I ran to the window and peered out, everyone gathering around me to see what was going on. The butler called Joe was wearing the crown on his head and had a jet pack on his back.

  “Isn’t that the guy who greeted us?” Suzie gasped. “But he was so nice!”

  “Joe!” the Queen exclaimed, as Nanny Beam threw open the window. “What are you doing?”

  He grinned manically up at us before placing a hand to his face to peel off a prosthetic chin, nose and forehead. He then removed his blonde wig to reveal a big, shiny, bald head.

  There was a collective gasp from the Bright Sparks.

  “MR MERCURY!” I cried.

  “We meet again at last, Lightning Girl! I was worried you might have forgotten me!” Mr Mercury replied, before offering me a salute. “Pity it had to be so brief! And don’t worry, Your Majesty. I’ll look after this precious stone for you. I have wonderful plans for it!”

  We watched in horror as he pressed a button on the side of his jet pack and launched himself into the air, disappearing into the sky, the crown firmly on his head, his chilling cackle echoing behind him.

  There was a stunned silence.

  The Queen slowly turn
ed to address us, her eyes filled with determination.

  “Bright Sparks, I know you’ve just come to the end of one story,” she began. “But I wonder if I might trouble you to save the world one more time.”

  Acknowledgements

  When I set out on this journey with Aurora Beam I had no idea how she would be received. I have been blown away by the love and support for this series – it’s been the greatest ride ever! :) It’s a dream come true to create and work on such a special project. I think that Aurora Beam is a fantastic role model and symbolizes all things good in the world. From being a nervous, frightened, insecure little girl to growing in confidence, becoming courageous and wanting to save the world! She truly is a superhero in every sense of the word and I love how she learns to embrace what makes her different and by doing so she inspires others to do the same!

  Some other superheroes that I have the pleasure of working with are listed below. These amazing human beings do extraordinary things to help make Lightning Girl the superstar that she is! Lauren Fortune, Aimee Stewart, Rachel Phillipps, Penelope Daukes, Andrew Biscomb, Rachel Partridge, Eishar Brar and the whole team at Scholastic, Katy Birchall, Lauren Gardner, Steve Simpson, James Lancett & Mike Love! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  To my loyal readers, thank you so much for coming on this journey with me!

  May you continue to read and be inspired! Keep shining bright!

  Happy reading :)

  Photo by John Wright

  Alesha Dixon first found fame as part of Brit-nominated and Mobo Award-winning group Mis-teeq, which achieved 2 platinum albums and 7 top ten hits, before going on to become a platinum-selling solo artist in her own right. Alesha’s appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007 led to her winning the series and becoming a judge for three seasons.

  Since then she has presented and hosted many TV shows including CBBC dance show Alesha’s Street Dance Stars, Children In Need, Sport Relief and BBC1’s The Greatest Dancer. She is a hugely popular judge on Britain’s Got Talent.